Chauvin faces the future in federal prison due to Floyd's death

Minneapolis (AP) — Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin, perhaps the unknown future in a safer federal prison, despite being nationally notorious for killing George Floyd, in Minneapolis's only largest security prison. I'm trying to replace it with.

Chauvin will be sentenced Thursday in the US District Court in St. Paul after pleaing federal civil rights in December. He has been in service for 22 and a half years for convicting state courts for murder and manslaughter. His plea bargain on federal crimes requires 20 to 25 years in prison and simultaneous imprisonment in federal prisons.

Because prisoners are more eligible for parole in the Minnesota prison system than in the federal system, Shovin has been convicted of state murder for at least a few years. Will spend time in jail. But it avoids the life imprisonment he faced in federal crime and gives him the possibility of a slightly more free and safer environment.

White Chauvin said of a black man, "I can't breathe." Floyd's killing in May 2020 caused protests around the world and police He was forced to make a national assessment of atrocities and racism.

Where he is now.

For his own safety, 46-year-old Chauvin has been detained since the conviction of "administrative quarantine" in the state's largest prison in Oak Park Heights. He is primarily confined to a 10x10 foot room and is allowed an average of one hour a day for his exercise.

His lawyer, Eric Nelson, sentenced Chauvin to a 20-year sentence at the end of last month, saying that he "spends a lot of time in his cell, mainly to protect himself."

Nelson is a former officer of Chauvin and is at risk of being targeted due to "the violent publicity surrounding his case", so Chauvin is a civilian in prison. I speculated that it would never be put in. But outside experts say he will probably someday mix with other prisoners.

Federal System

The Prison Department decides where to send prisoners in federal prisons. Judges can make recommendations. However, the final placement of prisoners and the decision on the appropriate level of security depends on the bureaus operating prisons nationwide, from low-security camps to one of the most dangerous criminals, "Supermax."

Bureau spokesman Scott Taylor refused to comment specifically on Chauvin's case. But he said "many factors" would go into the placement decision.

"Several factors include the level of security and supervision required by the inmate, medical or programming needs, separation and security to ensure the protection of the inmate. Countermeasures, and personal release dwellings, "said Taylor.

Nelson writes that Chauvin "is at high risk of dying at a young age, like many former law enforcement officers, because he has been pre-diagnosed with heart damage."

But that's just one factor that the station can consider. The other is the length of his sentence. Experts speculate that he is likely to start with at least a moderate security facility.

"I was in several federal prisons, including prison camps, but they are not country clubs," said Professor Mark Osler of St. Thomas University Law School. "But I think it's unlikely he'll be imprisoned in a camp or a" low "class prison first. He is much more likely to end up in the "high" classification or "medium". ”'

Safety Issues

If Chauvin was in the general population of a Minnesota prison, he was at risk of encountering a prisoner arrested or investigated. There is, Rachel Moran, another law professor in St. Thomas, said when he was an officer in Minnesota. He cannot completely escape his infamy in federal prisons elsewhere, but he does. She said she was unlikely to encounter a prisoner with such a direct personal grudge.

"It's dangerous to be a prison officer," said former U.S. lawyer Tom. Mr. Heffelfinger said. "By the nature of prisoners, it's even more dangerous in state prisons. For example, there are gangsters, and police officers are just not doing well there. These risks are mitigated in federal prisons."

The state prison population emphasizes violent criminals, including those convicted of murder, robbery and rape, Heffelfinger said. Federal prisons also contain prisoners with violent backgrounds, but they are likely to contain non-violent drug dealers and white-collar criminals, he added.

If Chauvin decides that Chauvin is safe enough for the general public, he has the opportunity to move around, work, and participate in programming. Will increase. These opportunities depend on the level of security and the individual facility.

Possible precedent.

Former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who fled a transportation stop. White Slager shot Scott five times behind in 2015 after stopping him because the brake lights broke in an incident captured in a widely seen bystander video, such as Floyd's death. He pleaded guilty to federal civil rights.

As part of a federal plea bargain, Slager's alleged murder was withdrawn. His lawyer said at the time that Slager wanted to be in a federal prison that he felt was safer than a state prison. Slager works in an unsafe federal prison in Colorado.

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Find the full AP coverage of George Floyd's death at:https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd